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What I’ve learned mediating and arbitrating real estate cases for many years is that disputes involving real property often arouse passions every bit as intense as those seen in divorce and estate litigation. Real estate cases also often involve arcane chain of title issues, boundary locations, land use restrictions and condemnation, trespass,
environmental damage, nuisance, leasing, suits against agents and brokers, etc.

Real property is very important to people, both emotionally and financially. They can be just as heated as a contentious divorce dispute, for example. At the same time as they inspire difficult emotions, they can involve very arcane technical and historical issues that are sometimes very difficult to understand and follow.

Early mediation of real estate disputes and land use disputes is almost always advantageous, as it is in other kinds of cases. A principle reason involves title and the ability to sell or finance real estate. In real estate litigation involving property that is financed, litigation itself often jeopardizes the financing of the property. Litigation makes property impossible to sell because of a cloud on title.

So, in terms of the property owner, early mediation like Mediation Sunshine Coast is always a good idea, otherwise, the property owner is paralyzed until the conclusion of the dispute. And that paralysis can take years.

In addition, if the dispute involves land use, the resolution of the dispute can take many years. I was the lawyer a number of years ago in a civil rights land use case that took seven years just to obtain the right to go to a jury trial. And in that time, my client went bankrupt. Most entities would. The passage of time is usually not going to help clarify ownership to property, or what parties can do with it, or what they can’t do with it.

So, this state of paralysis is inimitable to business, and it doesn’t help private property owners either. They can’t dispose of their property, they may not be to use it the way they want. And they live in a world of uncertainty until trial, or until trial and appeal. And the whole prospect can be financially ruinous and emotionally very, very stressful.

Successful mediation and arbitration of real property disputes requires considerable experience and I’m fortunate to have it. Prior to becoming a full time neutral, I served as corporate counsel for Washington State’s then largest commercial real estate developer. In that role, I regularly encountered some or all of the above real estate issues.

Later, I represented the prevailing party in what remains a landmark Washington land use case. Currently, real estate disputes represent a significant portion of my mediation and arbitration work. Recently I’ve successfully mediated flooding and boundary disputes involving private property owners and governmental agencies, a protracted commercial leasing dispute involving a technology manufacturer and its landlord and a condemnation action brought against a commercial property owner by a municipality seeking to widen an important arterial.

My real estate arbitration experience has included but has not been limited to a multi-million dollar breach of contract action by a private developer against a Port district for alleged failure to perform, partnership and/or joint venture disputes involving commercial building owners, alleged breaches of commercial leases involving substantial tenant improvement and other issues under various leases and disputes involving owners of real estate agencies and mortgage companies and escrow agencies.

I’m confident that my real estate mediation and arbitration experience can benefit you or your client if or when you confront a real property dispute.

Gregg Bertram has resolved thousands of cases in 22 years as one of the Pacific Northwest’s most recognized mediators and arbitrators.

From 2000 to 2008 Gregg was a principal at JAMS, the nationwide provider of alternative dispute resolution services, and before that was affiliated with Washington Arbitration and Mediation Services, where he earned the “Master Mediator” designation. Prior to full-time ADR practice, Gregg was a practicing attorney.

Gregg is a board member of the Federal Bar Association Alternative Dispute Resolution Section, and is an American Arbitration Association mediator and Arbitrator. He is also an accredited neutral of the World Intellectual Property Organization and International Center of Dispute Resolution.

Gregg is past chair of the ADR committee of the Washington State Bar Association. He has been recognized as a “Super Lawyer”® for ten consecutive years in Washington Law & Politics magazine, and has received repeated recognition in Seattle Magazine peer surveys as a “Top Lawyer.”

A Tale of Three Countries: Mediation in Scotland, the USA and New Zealand – Mary Harrow (New Zealand), David Semple (Scotland) and Rachel Wohl (USA)

Abstract: What Works — A NZ ADR Experience
How DRSL develops ADR systems to meet the ideal of access for all people in conflict to timely, affordable and empowering justice within a framework of financially sound business models in an environment of strong political
influences. The processes DRSL mediators use within those systems to promote just outcomes given the time and fiscal constraints.

Abstract: An Ongoing Collaboration between Maryland (USA) and Scotland
How visiting ADR projects in courts, schools, government, criminal and juvenile justice, neighborhoods and businesses, which were developed collaboratively, served as a catalyst to collaborative advancement in another country. How international collaboration served as an inspiration, and fostered growth and innovation on both sides of the pond. How working together builds credibility and motivates powerful leaders.

There are many ways to resolve conflicts — surrendering, running away, overpowering your opponent with violence, filing a lawsuit, etc. The movement toward Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), sometimes referred to simply as conflict resolution, grew out of the belief that there are better options than using violence or going to court. Successful conflict resolution occurs by listening to and providing opportunities to meet the needs of all parties, and to adequately address interests so that each party is satisfied with the outcome. In this program, Family & Marriage Therapist, Michele Iaia, further explores conflict resolution. She sheds light on how to handle and resolve the inevitable conflicts that arise in our relationships.

Do you know a family who is arguing over an estate after a loved one has passed away? Whether it’s someone facing a possible probate court battle, wondering about contesting a will, or confused over how a family trust is being handled, finding an early solution before fighting erupts is critical.

Through the years, Danielle and Andy Mayoras have worked with too many families embroiled in estate and probate conflicts to count. As a result, they’ve started a new project based on their commitment to help families find resolutions outside of probate court and without spending money on attorneys.

Danielle and Andy are authors of Trial & Heirs: Famous Fortune Fights!, which uses true stories of celebrity estate errors to teach people how to protect their heirs. As Forbes contributors, Danielle and Andy regularly analyze celebrity stories to provide lessons for families across the country.

The husband-and-wife duo now wants to combine their legal expertise to help select families even more. Danielle is an estate planning and elder law attorney who has counseled families for years to avoid probate and estate conflict. Andy is a probate litigation attorney, who regularly represents families already in conflict over will dispute cases, estate disputes, trusts, and other probate disputes, through litigation, mediation, and arbitration.

In Episode 7: Property Remediation, see tips on how to treat your properties for water damage, mold, asbestos, and more. See Titan Environmental Services re-mediate a house, and Kyle Gunion from Titan Environmental Services offers a professional analysis on how to go about re-mediating houses.

If you’re interested in learning more about marketing, finding, financing, rehabbing, and renting your properties,than this series was designed for you, and you can learn even more by checking out our Resource Guide at www.communitybuyinggroup.com/resource.html

To receive updates when new videos in the series are released, subscribe to our channel.

Anna Spain is the Deputy Director of the Burkle Center for International Relations and a Lecturer in Law at the UCLA School of Law where she teaches international dispute resolution. Her scholarship focuses on the intersection of international law and dispute resolution and on the study of international and cross-cultural conflict.

A mediator with over 12 years of experience, Ms. Spain has successfully mediated over 40 disputes in the public, private and academic sectors. She has also trained and advised clients in mediation, negotiation and international law.

Prior to joining UCLA, Ms. Spain was an Attorney-Adviser at the U.S. Department of State. She served as the U.S. delegate to the United Nations Compensation Commission in Geneva, represented the United States in two cases before the the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal in The Hague, and served as the State Departments primary legal adviser for international investment disputes in Asia and the Pacific.

Prior to legal practice, Ms. Spain clerked for the Honorable Judge Raymond Finch in the U.S. District Court in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. She also has a policy background in international trade and climate change and participated in negotiating the U.S. Chile Free Trade Agreement and the Kyoto Protocol during her tenure at the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Ms. Spain holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Economics from Denison University. She is a certified mediator in California, Washington D.C. and Ohio. Ms. Spain is a member of the American Bar Association, the American Society of International Law, the Pennsylvania Bar Association and is on the Board of Directors of Mediators Beyond Borders.

The Soka Gakkai International (SGI-USA) Culture of Peace Resource Centers in New York, Santa Monica, Chicago Washington D.C., and Honolulu have launched the Culture of Peace Distinguished Speaker Series to engage people in a dialogue on the values, attitudes and behaviors that reject violence and inspire creative energy toward the peaceful resolution of conflicts. Lecturers in this series focus on one or more of the 8 action areas defined by the 1999 United Nations Declaration and Program of Action on a Culture of Peace: (1) Fostering a culture of peace through education, (2) Promoting sustainable economic and social development, (3) Promoting respect for all human rights, (4) Ensuring equality between women and men, (5) Fostering democratic participation, (6) Advancing understanding, tolerance and solidarity, (7) Supporting participatory communication and the free flow of information and knowledge and (8) Promoting international peace and security.

We hope that this eclectic and thought-provoking series of dialogues will empower community participants with a heightened awareness of the subtle shifts in our attitudes and behaviors that can help attain and sustain a culture of peace and to apply what they have learned in meaningful ways to their families, schools, workplaces and local communities. This annual lecture series begins on January 26 of each year to commemorate the founding of the Soka Gakkai International and the yearly publication of a peace proposal by SGI President Daisaku Ikeda. All lectures are free and open to the public.

The potential for business disputes is endless. It’s a fact of business life — and it’s no different in the motorsport business.

When it does happen we get everybody together, behind closed doors, and sort out a commercial deal that works for everyone. Our people have been doing commercial mediation in motorsport and other businesses for years. It works, and it costs a small fraction of what it costs to go to court.

This book examines Arab approaches to mediation, negotiation and settlement of political disputes.
Nahla Yassine-Hamdan and Frederic S Pearson
This book proposes that two clusters of independent variables are potentially responsible for the distinctive nature of Arab conflict resolution. Firstly, those linked with Arab political regimes and imperatives, and secondly those linked with Arab and /or Islamic culture. The text also focuses on the Arab League and its history of involvement in crisis and conflict situations, along with the roles of individual leaders, emissaries and extra-regional actors such as IGOs (Inter-Governmental Organisations) in undertaking mediation initiatives. IGO and Arab League activity has taken on new importance since the various intervention attempts in connection with the ‘Arab Spring’ since 2011.

During the negotiation process, most Arab regimes tend to view conflicts within a broad historical context and Islamic culture prioritises the cohesion of the community and internal stability of the state over individual autonomy. This has created an authoritarian style of leadership, and in practice, leaders in the Middle East have had near absolute authority in the decision-making process—a fact which will have a lot of weight in conflict management and whether peace will endure for a long period of time.

This book is unique in studying these clusters through comparative systematic case study analysis of events prior to and subsequent to the ‘Arab Spring’, augmented by a quantitative analysis of sample data on Arab disputes, compiled from a larger and newly augmented study comprising the years 1945-2000. Complementary data from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program’s (UCDP) data base of armed conflicts since 1975 is also utilized.

This book will be of much interest to students of conflict resolution, peace and conflict studies, Middle Eastern politics and IR in general.
This study of conflict management in the Middle East covers general conflict resolution in Islam, sociological roots of conflict resolution in the Arab World and conflict resolution and the Arab state.